Regularity is the process by which individual Grand Lodges recognise one another for the purposes of allowing formal interaction at the Grand Lodge level and visitation by members of other jurisdictions.

There are a number of groupings of Masonic jurisdictions which consider themselves regular, and recognise others as regular, yet consider others to be irregular. There is no globally centralised Masonic organisational system, and therefore the criteria for regularity are not consistent across all Grand Lodges.

The concept of Regularity first appears in Payne's regulations, and was printed in Anderson's Constitutions. In regulation VIII we find -

If any Set or Number of Masons shall take upon themselves to form a Lodge without the Grand-Master’s Warrant, the regular Lodges are not to countenance them, or own them as fair Brethren and duly form’d, nor approve of their Acts and Deeds; but must treat them as Rebels, until they humble themselves, as the Grand-Master shall in his Prudence direct, and until he approve of them by his Warrant, which must be signify’d to the other Lodges, as the Custom is when a new Lodge is to be register’d in the List of Lodges.[1]

The revisions published in the 1738 constitutions introduced the term Regular Lodge.[2]

Arguments regarding what ought to constitute proper Freemasonry appear in the 1720s, when some lodges of the Premier Grand Lodge of England began to replace the old method of drawing the lodge symbols on the floor in chalk and charcoal with tape, tacked to the floor, and portable metal letters. This earned the new Grand Lodge the nickname of the Moderns.[3] In 1735, the same Grand Lodge refused admission to the master and wardens of an Irish lodge, who claimed to be a deputation from the Grand Master of Ireland, unless they accepted the English constitution, which they refused.[4] In 1751 the nucleus of a second Grand Lodge, which did not accept the innovations of the original, was formed.[5] Their book of constitutions, the Ahiman Rezon of their Grand Secretary Laurence Dermott, suggests that the Moderns had now changed their passwords in alarm over masonic exposures printed in the 1730s, which would not allow their members admission into any lodges outside their own jurisdiction.[6] The process of uniting of these two Grand Lodges began in 1809, when the Moderns set up a travelling Lodge of Promulgation to return their ritual to its "Ancient" form. This made possible the creation, in 1813, of the United Grand Lodge of England.[7]

Payne's 1720 regulations mention the necessity of maintaining the old Land-Marks of the order, but it was much later that anybody attempted to define them. It was not until 1858 that Albert Mackey published a list of 25 landmarks, which while not universally accepted, formed the basis of some American jurisdictions.[8][9]

Attempts to formulate the basis of regularity came even later in England, and appear to have arisen from recognition of a new Grand Lodge in France, which had just split from the Grand Orient de France, already branded as irregular (see below). A letter of 1913 from the new Grand Master of the Independent and Regular National Grand Lodge of France and of the French Colonies stated the obligations of his lodges as his claim to regularity.

1. While the Lodge is at work the Bible will always be open on the altar.

2. The ceremonies will be conducted in strict conformity with the Ritual of the "Regime Rectifié" which is followed by these Lodges, a Ritual which was drawn up in 1778 and sanctioned in 1782, and with which the Duke of Kent was initiated in 1792[47].

3. The Lodge will always be opened and closed with invocation and in the name of the Great Architect of the Universe. All the summonses of the Order and of the Lodges will be printed with the symbols of the Great Architect of the Universe.

4. No religious or political discussion will be permitted in the Lodge.

5. The Lodge as such will never take part officially in any political affair but every individual Brother will preserve complete liberty of opinion and action.

6. Only those Brethren who are recognised as true Brethren by the Grand Lodge of England will be received in Lodge.

The Grand Orient de France (GOdF) initially adapted its Constitution in order to comply. In 1877, however, on a proposal of the Protestant priest Frédéric Desmons at the convention of the GOdF, they removed references to the Great Architect of the Universe (GAOTU) from their Constitution.[11] The members of the convention saw their decision as a way to return to the original Constitution of James Anderson of 1723. The first two sentences of the constitution of the GOdF (in English translation) had been:

"Its principles of Freemasonry are the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and human solidarity. It considers liberty of conscience as an inherent right of each man and excludes no one because of his beliefs."

These became:

"Its principles are liberty of conscience and human solidarity. It excludes no one because of his beliefs."[12]

This decision led to a schism between the Grand Orient de France and the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).[13] Since the great schism of 1877 freemasonry is divided in two branches, Continental style Freemasonry and Anglo Freemasonry. These two branches are not in mutual regular amity, since most English style lodges consider Continental style lodges to be irregular.[11] The Grand Orient de France (Grand Orients) and the United Grand Lodge of England (Grand Lodges) are the basic models for each variety of freemasonry.

The largest collection of mutually recognised Grand Lodges derives its regularity from one or more of the Home Grand Lodges (United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), Grand Lodge of Scotland (GLoS) and Grand Lodge of Ireland (GLoI)) based on criteria known as "Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition" which together they codified and published on 4 September 1929 (although not new – they had been developed and refined over at least the preceding 150 years):[14]

Regularity of origin is established by a duly recognised Grand Lodge or three or more regularly constituted Lodges.

That all Initiates shall take their Obligation on or in full view of the open Volume of the Sacred Law, by which is meant the revelation from above which is binding on the conscience of the particular individual who is being initiated.

That the membership of the Grand Lodge and individual Lodges shall be composed entirely of men; and that each Grand Lodge shall have no Masonic intercourse of any kind with mixed Lodges or bodies which admit women to membership.

That the Grand Lodge shall have sovereign jurisdiction over Lodges under its control, i.e. that it shall be a responsible, independent, self-governing organisation, with sole and undisputed authority over the Craft or Symbolic degrees (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason) within its Jurisdiction; and shall not in any way be subject to, or divide such authority with, a Supreme Council or any other power claiming any control or supervision over those degrees.

That the three Great Lights of Freemasonry (namely, the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Square, and the Compasses) shall always be exhibited when the Grand Lodge or its subordinate Lodges are at work, the chief of these being the Volume of the Sacred Law.

That the discussion of religion and politics within the Lodge shall be strictly prohibited.

That the principles of the Antient Landmarks, customs and usages of the Craft be strictly observed.[15]

The first attempt to codify the governance of Masonry was by James Anderson in his Constitutions, published in 1723, and which contain a number of basic principles. Dr. Albert Mackey built on this in 1856, when he identified 25 Landmarks or characteristics of Masonry which have been widely adopted in America.

UGLE considers itself to be the most ancient Grand Lodge in continuous existence as it was founded in 1717 by four pre-existent lodges, and no record exists of any earlier Lodge organisation styling itself as a national Grand Lodge. Three of the four original lodges still exist, namely UGLE lodges No 2, No 4, and No 12. Unusually, they function without the normal warrant, and also have some internal offices and regulations which differ slightly from UGLE constitutions. As they pre-date the foundation of the oldest grand lodge, and as their actual date of foundation is (in each case) unknown, these three lodges are referred to as being "time immemorial" lodges. Since 1717 other grand lodges have been founded, and the majority have sought recognition by UGLE, hence it has become the 'benchmark' of masonic regularity.

Other bodies predicate their assessment of regularity on the 8th decree of Anderson's Constitution; a Lodge is regular if it works in conformity to the rules of its granted constitutional patent. Grand Lodges certify regularity to their recognized Member Lodges and Grand Lodges with patents.

The Regular Grand Loge of Belgium (R.G.L.B.) is currently the only Belgian Grand Lodge which is recognised as regular by UGLE and its concordant jurisdictions.

The oldest Grand Lodge of Belgium, the Grand Orient of Belgium (G.O.B.) lost its recognition by the UGLE in the 19th century when it decided to remove the requirement for Masons to have a belief in a Supreme Being. In an attempt to regain recognition by the UGLE, five lodges from the GOB founded the Grand Lodge of Belgium (G.L.B.) in 1959. When in 1979 the G.L.B. also lost its recognition by UGLE, nine lodges founded the Regular Grand Loge of Belgium on 15 June 1979.

Because of the historical role of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) in the development of Freemasonry, the term "Regular Freemasonry", when it is not further defined, usually refers to the United Grand Lodge of England and its recognized jurisdictions. Since UGLE is considered to be not only the oldest, but also the largest grouping of lodges, UGLE recognition (or the lack thereof) is generally the barometer by which a Masonic jurisdiction is deemed regular. UGLE provides a list of recognised Grand Lodges on its website.[16]

The Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF)[17] was until recently the only French Grand Lodge to be recognised as regular by UGLE and its concordant jurisdictions. However, on 19 July 2011, relations were suspended, and on 12 September 2012 UGLE finally voted to withdraw recognition of GLNF. The GLNF was since then re-recognized by UGLE on 12 June 2014. [18]

The Grand Orient de France (GOdF) was recognised by most Grand Lodges in the world until the middle of the 19th century, when the GOdF recognised an irregular and "unrecognised" Masonic organisation in Louisiana.[19][20] This caused several US Grand Lodges to withdraw recognition from the GOdF. The final breaking point, however, came about due to a decision by the GOdF in 1877 to remove the requirement for Masons to have a belief in a Supreme Being. UGLE and most other Anglo-Saxon Grand Lodges suspended all relations with, and recognition of, the Grand Orient de France as a result.

The Vereinigte Großlogen von Deutschland or United Grand Lodges of Germany (VGLvD) is the regular[21] Grand Lodge in Germany, it comprises five united Grand Lodges of varying traditions: two traditional German Grand Lodges, one Prussian Swedish Rite Grand Lodge, one English tradition Grand Lodge and one North American tradition Grand Lodge, the latter two Grand Lodges having been formed by occupying forces. There are also irregular masonic lodges in Germany including women masons, Co-Freemasons, and Prince Hall Freemasons (mainly on US military installations).

Following the principles of Freemasonry and the centuries-old rules, the Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia (RGLS) is the only sovereign, regular and recognized Grand Lodge in the territory of Serbia, which continues the tradition of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia, formed in 1919. It is recognized by more than 140 regular Grand Lodges from around the world. In relation to the above, RGLS in 2014. celebrates anniversary - 95 years since the founding of the first Grand Lodge, formed in 1919. in Belgrade, whose tradition proudly cherish. [2]

There are no fewer than three national Grand Lodges operating in Italy.

The Gran Loggia Regolare d'Italia (Grand Regular Italian Lodge) (GLRI)[22] is the only Italian Grand Lodge to be recognised as regular by UGLE, but other regular Grand Lodges favour the Grand Orient of Italy.[23]

In the United States each state has a Grand Lodge that supervises the lodges within that state and is sovereign and independent within that jurisdiction. The Provincial Grand Lodge of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania [24] was the first of these, founded in 1731, and also the third Grand Lodge ever formed around the world after England and Ireland. These are commonly referred to as the "regular" or "mainstream" Grand Lodges. There is no national Grand Lodge. All regular Grand Lodges in the US are in mutual amity with each other and with UGLE.

In addition, most States also have a sovereign and independent Prince Hall Grand Lodge that is or was predominantly African-American. For many years the mainstream Grand Lodges did not recognize Prince Hall Freemasonry and considered them irregular. Within the last 20 years this situation has changed and today most mainstream Grand Lodges have come to recognize their Prince Hall counterparts and vice versa. The few exceptions are in the former Confederate states (except Virginia and North Carolina), as well as West Virginia,[25] where the mainstream Grand Lodges do not yet recognize their Prince Hall counterparts. The Grand Lodge of Texas has recognition with its Prince Hall counterpart, but does not yet allow intervisitation of members.

Due to a 19th-century argument and a resulting schism, not all Prince Hall Grand Lodges recognize each other (see Prince Hall National Grand Lodge),[citation needed] and generally the mainstream Grand Lodges have followed the lead of their Prince Hall counterparts when it comes to recognizing Prince Hall Grand Lodges in other states. UGLE has also granted recognition to Prince Hall Grand Lodges where they are recognised by their mainstream counterparts.

Thus, in most of the States of the US, there are currently two recognized Grand Lodges, each recognizing the other but maintaining independence and sovereignty over their subordinate lodges. This condition (the presence of two recognized Grand Lodges in one geographical area) is uncommon. Traditionally recognition has been granted under the concept of "Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction", meaning that only one Grand Lodge is recognized within any given Jurisdiction. The other exception is Germany, although the situation there is unique: there are five Grand Lodges in Germany, two being traditional German, one being Prussian Swedish Rite, one being American, and one being British. All five form part of an umbrella Grand Lodge known as the VGvD, which is in full amity with the UGLE; this has the effect that American, German, Swedish, and British Masonry is all considered regular and mutually recognised.

Throughout the US there are also numerous bodies that claim to be Masonic Lodges and Grand Lodges, but which are not recognized as such by UGLE, the mainstream Grand Lodges, nor their Prince Hall counterparts. These are deemed to be irregular.